10 Essentials: Evan Yurman

Jewelry designer Evan Yurman rides a dirt bike around town in his suit, hits the slopes every winter with his snowboarding buddies, and appreciates classic cars he can drive without worrying about preserving. In short, he's what men look for in a jewelry designer—masculine, refined, and not at all precious.

The director of design, men's and timepieces at his father's iconic company, Evan Yurman launched the Revolution Timepiece collection this year, including a collaboration with famed car shop Shelby for their 50th anniversary, in which Yurman designed a limited-edition Shelby watch and advised the company on the design of the Shelby 1000 Mustang. "A lot of men want more from their jewelry," Yurman said. "They might not be okay with a standard band ring—they want to relate to it in some way.

And for the guys who still can't get behind jewelry? It's time to get over it. "The history of adornment started with man—man killed animal, took a tooth, strung it on his neck. That was the first piece," Yurman said. "And then you fast-forward to the middle ages when the men adorned themselves with incredible amounts of jewelry—rings on each finger, 100 inches of gold chain around their necks. King Henry was definitely the first Mr. T." While the B. A. Baracus look may be inadvisable, Yurman says, "I just encourage adornment, you know? Even just a little thread, whether it's mine or somebody else's, I encourage it."

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2. Husqvarna SMR 510 Supermoto

"This is my get-around-town, get to appointments post-haste vehicle. It's a great tool and a great toy. You might see me just ripping up 6th avenue in a suit and dress shoes, trying to get to Midtown to meet some dealers."

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3. 1971 Plymouth Barracuda

"I love this car. It's a Hemi. I have five or six classic cars that I cycle out, but I'm a collector aesthetically, not really about provenance. I don't need to restore a super-rare car, because that would just make me nervous and I wouldn't drive it. I'd keep it cryovaced for the next generation or something."

"I love these old cars because it takes you back, slows life down—you just want to cruise. There's no air conditioning and you get hot, and you remember what it's like to not have all these creature comforts. It's a step back into time."

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4. Mountain Valley Spring Water

"It's in a recycled glass bottle and it has a high pH level. Everyone should drink it. The bottle is green glass, so people think I'm drinking beer. Some guy gave me this nod of approval like I'm drinking beer openly on the street, baller-style, not even paper-bagging it."

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5. Sushiden

"I love sushi. I could eat it every day, and then I would die of Mercury poisoning. Sushiden is a chain in Japan, and they have two or three here. It's mostly Japanese people there, and for the most part the chefs are not going to speak English. You'd better be ready for some Tokyo-style sushi—there's no dragon rolls here."

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6. Traveling

"I try and keep it fresh. You need to keep your mind agile. I've got two kids, a wife, a nanny, I've got a full stable. I'm at work from eight in the morning until like nine at night, so I'm not a jet-setter dilettante, but I do take my time to get inspired."

"Recently I went to Venice. It's a beautiful little place to get lost, you know? I would go see it now before it's underwater, which it will be, for sure. I think I'm going to head off to South America next. It's like a nine-hour flight, but it's on the same time zone, so there's no jet lag. Isn't that awesome?"

7. Burton Board T4 Terje Haakonsen snowboard

"The T4 is a great, stiff, all-mountain board. You can still hit some jumps, but it's more about freeriding. It's made out of honeycomb aluminum with epoxy, and you can add different types of epoxy to change the rigidity."

"I lump my riding into two ski trips a year, and I go out west. Right now I'm on Telluride. The snow is great, the people are great, and the houses are cheap. Six bedrooms, 2000 dollars a night. Do the math—you bring eight guys up there, you can't beat that. Plus, there were some recent bills passed in Colorado, and Telluride was a pretty liberal place to begin with."

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8. Shindo Vintage tube amps

"These are extremely choice, vacuum-tube, high-efficiency amps. They use parts from the '50s, and they hook up to a turntable and convey the rich sound of that era. They're not for rock and roll; they're more for jazz, vocals, somebody like Nina. I use a Garrard 301 turntable and an Ortofon tonearm. That's about as correct as you can get."

9. Leatherman Tools

"If you're going to be out there in the world doing things, you just need one. You need to cut something, clamp something, threaten someone, cut a finger off, it's all there. There are many models, but you've just got to keep yours sharp—that's all that matters."

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10. Black Chronograph David Yurman Revolution Timepiece

"This is the newest addition to our fleet, and it's an urban, sporty watch. It's American-designed and Swiss-made, which is a great combination. The way it all comes together is architectural—there's so many angles and subtle tolerances that you can get lost in the detail of the dial. And it's quite heavy. You have to get used to wearing it, but once you do, you miss it when you don't have it on."